Machesney Park lawmaker pushes bill requiring parolees return to home county after prison

Friday

Mar 14, 2014 at 9:00 AMMar 14, 2014 at 10:06 AM

By Kevin HaasRockford Register Star

ROCKFORD — State Rep. John Cabello wants to prevent out-of-town criminals from making Rockford their home after being released from prison.

Cabello, R-Machesney Park, introduced House Bill 4448 earlier this year, which would make it mandatory for parolees to return to the county where they lived immediately prior to their prison sentence. They would have to stay there for the length of their parole or mandatory supervised release.

“Law enforcement is going to know the people coming back to their own community better than if they’re sent to a new community,” Cabello said.

Rockford has had a share of high-profile crimes committed by parolees from other communities. A year ago, police arrested Jerome Pruitt, a parolee from Cook County and another from Peoria County, in connection with a string of robberies and two knife attacks over four days on Broadway. Cabello referenced a different case as his influence for the bill: A McHenry County man convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering a 3-year-old girl who was paroled to Rockford in 2010 after 48 years in state mental institutions and prison.

“That’s what started me thinking, ‘Why are we getting other people’s problems?’” Cabello said.

The bill faces opposition from the Illinois Department of Corrections and others who say parolees shouldn’t be limited to living in their former communities when they look to start a new life after prison. Parolees have housing available through community groups, religious organizations, family members and close friends in cities and towns different from where they previously lived, the DOC notes in its opposition. Cabello and representatives of the DOC have agreed to meet in Springfield to discuss options for the bill.

“We have discussed our concerns with Rep. Cabello and his willingness to listen is appreciated, very much,” DOC spokesman Tom Shaer said in an email to the Register Star. “We all want what is best for our communities and the State of Illinois.”

The department says if the proposed bill were to become law Winnebago County would receive more parolees than currently reside here. DOC records show that in 2011, the latest year of available data, 1,573 of the state’s prisoners were convicted in Winnebago County, or 3.2 percent. The same year 826 of the state’s parolees were living in Winnebago County, or 3.3 percent. Winnebago County has hosted between 3.2 and 3.4 percent of the state’s parolees while convicting between 3.2 and 3.5 percent every year since 2005, a Register Star review of data showed.

Rockford Ald. Marcus Hill, D-6, said he understands how the bill could be good for law enforcement, “but it also can be bad for someone who really wants to change and start their life over.”

Hill spent several years working for the Safer Foundation, where he helped people with criminal records find jobs, housing and reintegrate into society. He said parolees sometimes need to move to a new area after being released from prison so they can escape the environment that influenced their criminal behavior.

“Some people make those mistakes early in life ... they serve their time and when they get out, some of them want to change,” Hill said. “Different circumstances will cause people to do different things.”

He said a victim’s family may also feel better knowing a convict won’t return to the community.

“Put yourself in a family’s shoes that has experienced some type of chaotic event,” he said.

Cabello said he’s open to discussion on ways to improve the bill and will continue to work with people around the state and community to find the best solution. He recognized that preventing inmates from moving to other communities isn’t a panacea to stop recidivism. He said there’s more work to be done on that front.

“I really don’t know of anything that’s going to prevent them from re-offending except helping them get an education while they’re incarcerated, making sure that we do a better job of giving them higher education training while they’re incarcerated and making sure that there’s a job for them when they come out,” Cabello said.

Winnebago County records show about 130 people who have been booked into jail through March 13 were on parole. Last year, about 630 parolees were arrested in Winnebago County, accounting for about 4 percent of all jail bookings.

Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey has expressed concerns about parolees from other communities that come to Rockford and commit crimes. He said the city and DOC have made a lot of progress on improving communication to keep better track of parolees in our community.

“The underlying issue that we share is making sure there is accountability and support for anybody released from the DOC,” Morrissey said.